I hauled myself out of the house on a gorgeous, clear Father's Day and drove to the eastern side of Huntsville for an afternoon of photography.

Photos after the cut, so as not to make my entire front page explode. Full set is available on flickr as usual.

My two favorites:

Table and chairs, Burritt Museum
at Walker Woods, Huntsville, Alabama, United States by domesticat.
[Photo: 'Table and chairs'']

Shotgun breezeway, Burritt Museum
at Walker Woods, Huntsville, Alabama, United States by domesticat.
[Photo: 'Shotgun breezeway, Burritt Museum'']

I'm still frustrated with my outdoor shots. I see the potential of the wide-angle 20mm lens, but I realize I'm not getting it yet. I'd say that my eye is still trained for shooting with the 85mm lens, and I'm not always seeing the best opportunities for the 20mm yet. I'm so accustomed to shooting single trees, I'm missing the forest.

Another thing to work on -- shooting with the polarizer. I do get some really good shots, but it almost seems like it overcompensates at times. Landscape colors come out far too dark or rich to be believable, and the midtones are far too dark, even when they look right in the camera. Today I made a point to shoot multiple images while turning the polarizer. I got better results when I backed off more than I thought was necessary, but my polarizer shots just aren't ready for prime time yet.

It's a learning process, and as such was totally worth it. My eye for this lens will improve given time, practice, and more days like these.